<Click on chart for larger image> MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Gas Prices Down 13 Weeks; Longest Streak Since 2008 Gas prices fell in the past week for the 13th straight week, something that hasn’t happened since a 15-week streak that ended in December 2008: Dow Jones’ Jerry DiColo reported: The national average price of retail… Continue reading Gas Prices Down 13 Consecutive Weeks
The Wall Street Journal – Lining Up Libor Alternatives Banks are Testing Replacements Amid Growing Scrutiny of the Benchmark Rate The hunt for a credible replacement for Libor—long the most accepted market measure of short-term interest-rate moves—is heating up. Banks are testing alternatives to the London interbank offered rate, which is coming under increased scrutiny… Continue reading LIBOR
Bloomberg.com – Morgan Stanley Pushed S&P to Boost Ratings, Investors Say Morgan Stanley (MS) successfully pressured Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service Inc. to give erroneous investment-grade ratings in 2006 to $23 billion worth of notes backed by subprime mortgages, investors claimed in a lawsuit, citing documents unsealed in federal court. Executives at the… Continue reading LIBOR Is Not The Only Manipulation Game In Town
None Today
MSN Money – It’s the printing press or the euro Hopes were no doubt running high this week that somehow a solution to the euro crisis would be found at the European summit, which began Thursday. Unfortunately, however, that was always extremely unlikely, as I’m sure anyone who thought about it could see. In fact,… Continue reading There Is No Consensus On Last Week’s Euro Deal
<Click on chart for larger image> Reuters – Analysis: U.S. companies blame Europe for earnings warnings As an increasing number of American companies warn their earnings will fall short of expectations, many are pointing the finger at Europe as the culprit. As the second-quarter corporate results season gets underway in the next few weeks, the… Continue reading Here Comes Earnings Season
<Click on chart for larger image> Barron’s – How to Profit From High Correlation Funds that mimic S&P 500 sectors have traded mostly in lock step in the past few weeks. If they tighten a little further, it would suggest a buying opportunity in stocks. A complication: High correlation can stick around for a while.… Continue reading Stock Market Correlation
<Click on chart for larger image> Forbes – Dr. Allen Sinai & Dr. Margo Thorning: The Horrific Accident Awaiting Us Over The Fiscal Cliff With the U.S. elections rapidly approaching, only to be quickly followed by the “Bush tax cuts” expiring at the end of the year in the absence of action by the President… Continue reading The Fiscal Cliff
The Wall Street Journal – Stocks Out of Fashion Amid More Bonding One simple but misleading explanation: There are more bonds around due to rampant deficit spending, even as corporations have been net buyers of stock. But that doesn’t explain investment preferences or why Treasury yields are so low. A more likely culprit is bonds’… Continue reading Stocks vs Bonds
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Prices of Raw Goods Plunge on Slowdown The sudden economic downdraft has caused one of the biggest and broadest declines in commodities prices since the financial crisis, surprising producers and creating a glut of raw materials around the… Continue reading Commodities
The Financial Times – Conflicting messages on US markets US equity markets are at a crucial juncture. Slowing growth, financial stress and uncertainty are framing the investment backdrop as the second half of the year beckons. A strong end to June on Friday, saw the S&P 500 retreat 3.3 per cent in the second quarter,… Continue reading The U.S. Equity Markets: Good Or Bad?
The Wall Street Journal – Consumers Unlikely to Rekindle the Recovery Don’t count on consumers to rescue the faltering U.S. economic recovery. When job growth picked up late last year, many experts saw the seeds of a consumer-driven economic rebound. As Americans returned to work, the theory went, they would have more money to spend… Continue reading Don’t Count On The U.S. Consumer To Save The Economy